By MARK MOLINA | STAFF WRITER
Costly mistakes by the Rivera Raiders offense throughout the night gave the Brownsville Veterans Memorial Chargers extra possessions, and BVM made the most of them.
Rivera turned the ball over four times and Brownsville Veterans’ offense moved the ball almost at will as it rolled to a 43-28 win in The Brownsville Herald’s Game of the Week Saturday night at Sam’s Stadium.
The Chargers moved down the field on the legs of quarterback Gustavo Vasquez, who rushed for 162 yards on 12 carries with two touchdowns.
Meanwhile, the Chargers (2-0) put the heat on Rivera (1-1) quarterback Nicholas Blanco, who, despite a solid night on the stat sheet, turned the ball over twice.
“I felt that we did a good job up front; we have eight offensive linemen and there’s no weak link,” Brownsville Veterans head coach David Cantu said. “Defensively, up front and with those linebackers we were able to pressure Rivera into some mistakes. I’m really happy because we beat a good football team tonight.
Aside from the miscues, Blanco proved to be a tough out for the Charger defense as he grinded his was to three touchdown passes and ran for another.
“We made some mistakes and (Brownsville Veterans) is a good football team,” Rivera head coach Tom Chavez said. “I feel we made a lot strides from last week to this week and we need to keep on doing that.”
The Brownsville Veterans offense got going on its second drive of the game with a 30-yard pass from quarterback Gustavo Vasquez to Cristian Chapa, setting them up with a first and goal on the Raider 16.
Vasquez ran in a 16-yard score on the very next play to put the Chargers up 7-0 midway through the first.
The Raider offense was penalized three times on its first possession, putting them in long-yardage situations both times.
Rivera finally got on the board in the early second, however, as Blanco ran in a touchdown from 1 yard out, capping off a 12-play, 70-yard drive to make it a 7-7 game.
After the Chargers took a 14-7 lead on a 4-yard run by running back Abel Martinez, the Charger defense went to work.
BVM flushed Rivera’s Blanco to the right, where he threw a pass right into the chest of Chargers defensive back Aaron Recio.
Recio returned the pick 35 yards to the house, putting Brownsville Veterans ahead 21-7 with 5:24 to play in the half and taking control of the game for good.
“(I) was just in man coverage pressing the receiver and I saw him go for a quick slant, so I followed my reads and looked at (Blanco’s) hips,” Recio said. “He faked left, looked right and I was with him the whole time. We were struggling in the beginning, but after that pick-six, we were pumped on the sideline … we played better.”
On the ensuing kickoff following the defensive score, Rivera couldn’t handle the bounce of the short kick, allowing Brownsville Veterans to recover on the Raiders’ 34.
A scuffle ensued thereafter, forcing the ejection of two Rivera players, as well as one from Veterans.
The Chargers would add a 37-yard field goal from Joey Zarate to pad its lead to 24-7.
Rivera’s Daniel Limon later intercepted a Vasquez pass and set the Raiders up at the Charger 30.
Blanco hit tight end Donavan Trevino four snaps later for a 19-yard touchdown, sending the Raiders into the break down 24-14.
BVM and Rivera exchanged scores to start the third quarter to make it 30-21.
After that, Vasquez broke off a 62-yard run all the way down to the Rivera 8, setting up an Alexis Gomez score on the next play, giving the Chargers a 37-21 advantage.
Rivera fumbled on its next two possessions, leading to a pair of field goals for the BVM.
The Raiders managed a score late in the fourth on a touchdown pass from Blanco to Oscar Lozoya for 35 yards.
Blanco was 10 of 23 with three touchdowns and one interception. He also ran for 74 yards on 15 carries with one touchdown and lost a fumble.